One of the really pleasant rewards of writing about the referee program is the response I receive from all over the country. Some respondents write to agree, others to suggest corrections of minor errors, yet others to disagree (as Jozsef Michna did last week). All the people who write, clearly care about the state of refereeing in this country, as I do. We've put years into officiating, teaching, evaluating, and we all share a disappointment that the program is not being cared for in the way that it should.
But the most satisfying ones are those that describe an emotional response similar to the one I felt about a circumstance or a person. In the thirty-five years I have been in the program, I've met some delightful individuals and some dedicated ones, and it is good to read that others shared my feelings about the "good guys". So here is an e-mail I received about one of those outstanding individuals who put his heart and soul into "the beautiful game". The phrases in square brackets were added for clarification.
I will definitely miss John. He commanded a lot of respect, not only because of his high status [as a National Assessor], but also because he wanted to be part of the solution for our referee program. No matter the age group, no matter the weather, John gave of himself to the very end, taking a break in-between his assessments at the U11-U13B/G State Cup preliminary round [to take a nap from which he did not awaken].
He had a lot of bark, but deep down inside he was very humble, something a lot of national referees could take a lesson in. There are a lot of National Referees who barely acknowledge your existence, even while working the line for them.
Many years ago as a grade 8, I didn't know who John was and I didn't realize he was watching my match during State Cup. After my match, he approached me, pointed out a few mechanics I didn't even realize I was doing, and he handed me his National [Assessor] business card and told me to call him anytime! I worked my way to my grade 6, and it is because of guys like John that I continue to referee and involve myself in our D4 referee program.
John gave me my maintenance [assessment] last October. While I was checking in one of the U17B premier teams, I realized that Brian Hall was the coach. I thought to myself, with Brian as the coach, and John as my assessor, I better not screw anything up! While conducting my pre-game, John came up to me and said "Rich, I did you a big favor today". I said, "Oh really, what's that, John?". He replied, "I told Brian Hall to leave you alone, I told him that today, your ass belongs to ME!"
With deep sadness,
Richard Villalobos.
I was saddenned to hear of the sudden passing of Mr. Kennedy. While I did not know him well, I was fortunate to have him for 2 recent assessments and I learned a tremendous amount about not only mechanics, game managment, etc. etc., but also how the game should be approached and respected. I always meant to send him a note thanking him for his time and effort to encourage my development. Sadly, I cannot do that now. However, I hope his family may read this blog and I can say thank you to them for supporting Mr. Kennedy and for being a part of all he has given to "The beautiful game." He will be missed.
Posted by: Eric Freitag | February 01, 2006 at 08:40 PM
Over the weekend I was conducting an oral debriefing on the "Developmental Assessment" I had made on a talented youth referee when his AR#1 (a State Referee whom I did not know but who had volunteered his time to aid our developing youth referees) interupted me to state, "That's the exact same advice John Kennedy gave to me several years ago when I was a Grade 8 and I follow it in every match." My reply to him was, "And where do you think I learned it?"
Thank you John, I'll not forget you, ever!
Posted by: Roger Rivers | February 20, 2006 at 04:14 PM
Ah we should all go on and on and tell stories about this fine man. He certainly entertained us with his and for that I am eternally grateful.
You see when I first encountered John I thought to myself "Oh my god I hope I never have to have him watch my game". I have to laugh now at that thought.
You see over time I was the benefactor of John Kennedy's wisdom and insight. Once I saw through the sometimes gruff exterior I realized he was a fountain of good information about this wonderful game.
He took the time to help my daughter as a youth referee and frankly she is so tough and strong on the field because of his mentoring help.
And finally he was my assessor for my grade 6 upgrade. By the time I had reached that point I now reveled in the assessment process as opposed to fearing it. When John was assigned my game I cheered. I knew that meant I was going to have a great day and John would give me the good and the bad but in the end I would be better off for it.
I did have a good game. John gave me great insights. Perfect.
He even hsared his extra tickets to Quakes games with me so I could see more games with the likes of Brian and Ricardo in the middle.
I am forever indebted to him and will miss him on the pitch.
Posted by: Kevin Rockwell | March 15, 2006 at 03:23 PM
I was cleaning out my file cabinet and i came across a letter that John Kennedy had written to me When i was the Director of Assessment.It was vintage John,raising hell with whom he called THE KNOW IT ALL IDIOTS.he was a character,who i trusted implicitly.You knew wee you stood with John there was no double talk,if you had praise coming John was first in line,and if you needed a good talking to, then john was again first in line.We have many assessors who could have learnt PEOPLE RELATIONS from john,John always believed in a phraze i told him THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY A real good friend who i will miss
Posted by: Pat Smith | March 26, 2006 at 07:37 AM